The Sports Ajenda

The Chicago Fire kick off a two-day, four-team international tournament on Wednesday where they will welcome Legia Warsaw, Paris Saint-Germain and Red Star Beldgrade. The Fire want to continue to grow the game of soccer in the Chicagoland area and see benefits for this tournament not only for the club but also for the fans.

“There is a lot of benefits to the club, the players and the city. For the players it’s always exciting to play against high level teams. These teams have players that are well known. It’s good to test yourself against some of the better teams in the world. For the club, you are still branding the name of The Fire around the world and for the city, the city is rich in soccer tradition, it’s an opportunity for some of the soccer fans to watch high level soccer. This is something we want to build on”, said Frank Klopas, Chicago Fire Technical Director.

Veteran Brian McBride went on to say, “It gives us an opportunity to give some guys some games, some experience against some quality teams. It also gives our fans a chance to see teams from around the world.